Saturday, April 2, 2011

This recipe caught my eye because in its omnivorous incarnation it was billed as "mock turtle soup." This sounded promising, but I soon learned that since turtles are hard to find outside of Louisiana they had been replaced with veal. There was even a note in the margin saying "no reptile was harmed in the making of this mock turtle soup." Oh, good. So, a calf was taken from its mother, kept in the dark in a confinement pen, feed an iron deficient diet, and slaughtered at a young age; but at last the turtles got a pass! This recipe is an experiment in using seaweed to keep a seafood-like stock, which I think worked very well. The original recipe also called for diced hard boiled eggs which I replaced with some tofu and black salt. Feel free to leave this out and just add more mushrooms.

METHOD1. Heat the oil in a stock pot over med-hi heat. Add the onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and golden brown (about 10 mins). Add mushrooms and cook until just beginning to release their water. Add flour, mix well, and cook for 5 mins (add a splash more oil, if needed).2. Add garlic, tomatoes, seaweed stock, sauces, and tofu. Mix well, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about an hour.3. If the soup is too thick, add more stock. If too thin, add some tomato paste. Taste and adjust all seasonings as you see fit.4. Add lemon juice, parsley, and green onions and simmer for 30 mins. Remove bay leaves, stir in sherry, adjust seasonings one last time and serve with crusty bread.

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comments:

I am going to try this but w/out the nori and other seaweed, cuz I hate it. I'll just use regular veggie broth. Also going to leave out the bay leaf, because I hate them too. But everything else sounds great! :-)

What a great idea for a soup! The note about reptiles reminds me a similar note that I have seen on some canned fish (or canned fish soup, I cannot remember). "No dolphins were harmed", but what about the fish that was in the can? The fish was killed, but as long as dolphins weren't killed it makes it O.K. for some people.

You do realize that very few veal calves are actually crated any more, right? And the ones that are turned into milk veal are impossible for the average consumer to buy. It's akin to prime grade beef, restaurants snatch it up before the consumers even have a chance.

So most veal is simply baby beef. Nothing that different from lamb.

I love your vegan recipes. But get your facts straight, okay? No reason to be militant.

We didn't find vegan oyster sauce, even at Whole Foods... BUT... I'm making the soup as I write this, and holy cow it smells absolutely delicious!!! Thanks Vegan Dad! My wife and I check your blog every week when we're making grocery lists. You have wonderful recipes. =)

Mock turtle soup is famous from the Alice books. Tenniel drew the Mock Turtle character as a turtle with the head, feet and tail of a calf. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Alice_par_John_Tenniel_34.png/500px-Alice_par_John_Tenniel_34.png

The chapter about the Mock Turtle is here (http://www.authorama.com/alice-in-wonderland-9.html) and it's worth reading (though all of Alice is worth reading).